Market project to be tendered

FINANCE Minister James Marape will direct the Central Supplies and Tenders Board to start the K22 million Goroka market project tender process.
He confirmed in Parliament on Friday that the funding earmarked for the redevelopment of the market was in trust.
Responding to Eastern Highlands Governor Julie Soso who had asked when work on the market would be undertaken, Marape called on leaders to work together to deliver projects for their people.
“Looking at Governor Soso’s question, K22m is already in trust and I confirm as finance minister that we have that money sitting in trust,” Marape said.
“I see no reason why there must be prolonged court cases, we see emergence, we see emergence of these sorts of trend happening around the country where leaders are contesting for funds for the same project.
“It is incumbent upon all of us to put our heads into one programme because at the end of the day it is geared towards the same project for the same people in the same area.”
Soso said the people of Eastern Highlands had been asking when the project would begin.
She said K10 million from the provincial services improvement program (PSIP) and another K10 million from National Planning Department were already in trust.
Soso said there was already K2 million allocated for the market since 2012 so there was almost K22 million in the trust account at the provincial government treasury office.
“We spent half a million to produce documentation for the design and scoping and all the plans are now with the Central Supplies and Tenders Board,” Soso said.
Marape acknowledged Soso for matching national government allocations with the counter-part funding to partner in the development for Goroka market.
“I will take this time to direct the Central Supplies and Tenders Board because of the availability of the funds,” he said.
They will reassess where the court case is at the moment.
“The process of tendering for the market must take place immediately and we hopefully before we go to elections there’s a market emerging in that beautiful part of the country that needed to be developed.”